One of the most difficult aspects of fire fighting is the support and control of the firehose, especially when the fire fighter is on a ladder or in any other situation in which one or more of his hands is occupied.
Firehoses are not only heavy, but quite unwieldy when charged with the pressures typically used to deliver water onto the fire. To direct their output onto the fire requires both skill and strength. The strength requirement increases significantly when the firefighter must ascend a ladder to fight the fire. Fatique in the arms and hands frequently becomes a factor in affecting the firefighter's performance. The hazard of handling the pressurized hose together with the fatigue resulting from having to both support and direct the hose present a safety risk to the firefighter. Additional hazard and inefficiency results from the firefighter having at least one hand preoccupied with the hose, requiring him, for example, to climb a ladder with only one arm and hand available to support him.
These problems could be solved if an apparatus could be devised which permits the firefighter to support his firehose without fatiguing his arms and hands and without preoccupying his hands from other work.
Murnan (U.S. Pat. No. 593,901) shows a fireman's tool and hose carrier wherein a tool is latchable directly to a belt. This apparatus provides a single shoulder strap, a conventional tongue/hole buckle, and the tool is attached directly to the belt at a fixed side position.
Van Winkle (U.S. Pat. No. 2,095,351) has shown a self-contained painter's apparatus which may be attached to a painter's back.
Twaits (U.S. Pat. No. 3,034,596) has shown a quick release latching device for shoulder and waist straps, which device could be used with any harness mechanisms where a quick release feature is desired.
Lovering (U.S. Pat. No. 3,064,074) devised a hunter's coat with an internally fixed tow harness to which a tow line could be attached.
Hutchinson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,643) shows a detachable harness which may be snapped on to a jacket or coat and buckled around the waist of same, to which a towing harness is attached to the wearer's backside.
Himmelrich (U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,101) presents a utility coat with a seating apparatus adapted to the wearer's being raised or lowered by a line.